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I prefer using turbinado which is also known as raw sugar in my rubs. It has the consistency if Kosher salt so the larger grains don't break down and burn as easily and brown sugar and you still get all the sugar flvor out of it.

I prefer using turbinado which is also known as raw sugar in my rubs. It has the consistency if Kosher salt so the larger grains don't break down and burn as easily and brown sugar and you still get all the sugar flvor out of it.

I agree turbinado has a good granularity to mix up in a rub. Most brown sugars can get lumpy and make the rub tough to apply.

Seriously though - you can't really taste mustard after a low n slow. There's a hell of a lot more subtlety between brown and white sugar than no mustard or mustard. Sugar caramelizes and completely changes flavor during the cook. Using boutique sugars sounds sexy when you're describing your rub, but it ain't gonna pass any blind test taste. Go with what's easier to mix and apply, I say.

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If it didn't matter then why do rub recipes call for different things? I say it because of preference. Maybe a miniscule difference, but a difference just the same. My preference is turbinado or raw sugar as well for same reasons described above and also because it's a more natural product, and less processed.

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If it didn't matter then why do rub recipes call for different things? I say it because of preference. Maybe a miniscule difference, but a difference just the same. My preference is turbinado or raw sugar as well for same reasons described above and also because it's a more natural product, and less processed.

I agree. I think that it is a personal preference based off of people developing rubs and finding "whats best" for them. The differences are "perceived" and probable only noticed when the rub is tasted on it's own. Like Nola said, sugar completely changes with carmelization; similar to the way protein changes with the maillard reaction.

Brown and turbinado sugars are still almost pure sucrose. They have more water and minerals than refined sugar, which is extremely pure - 99.98%.

If you want to play around with tastes, try different saccharides. Mono saccharides glucose, galactose and fructose combine into dissaccharides - sucrose, lactose and maltose. When these chains get longer, you get stuff like chitin and cellulose. Probably not good in a rub.

______________________________________________This is my signature line just so you're not confused. Love me or hate me, I am forum Marmite. Large and Medium BGE, Kamado Joe Jr, Akorn Jr, smoker with a 5k btu AC, gas grill, fire pit, pack of angry cats, two turntables and a microphone, my friend. Registered republican. New Orleans, LA - we know how to eat